Aston Villa will be seeking revenge on Manchester United this weekend as Unai Emery’s side look to keep within touching distance of Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race.Two hundred and ten days after a controversial defeat at Old Trafford on the last day of the 2024/25 campaign, which saw Unai Emery’s squad miss out on Champions League football as a result of a 2-0 loss, Villa meet Man Utd once again – but with more than a spot among Europe’s elite now in their line of sight.
Villa are within touching distance of Man City and Arsenal in the title race and rectifying the mistakes from the last meeting with Ruben Amorim’s side presents the latest opportunity to shift their title-winning dreams into a more achievable reality.
“Yes, of course,” Emery told Sky Sports when asked if the ending to last season adds extra motivation heading into Sunday’s clash at Villa Park, live on Sky Sports.
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“Manchester United is very difficult. We are so motivated to try to keep our consistency against them because the three years since I arrived here, we are performing and competing with them, sometimes beating them, sometimes behind them, but always close.
“Now we are even in front of them, with some advantage, but to play on Sunday for three points, for us, is a really huge moment. To get this opportunity is strong motivation for us.”
‘We need to be humble to believe we can win title’Up until now, Emery has been reluctant to include his side in the title race, with full focus always on the next fixture.
Opta currently have their odds of securing a first league title since 1981 at just 5.8 per cent – but the fact these conversations are taking place only highlights the remarkable turnaround since Emery arrived in the Second City in October 2022.A time when slipping back into the Championship seemed more likely than silverware.
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Unai Emery was appointed as Steven Gerrard’s successor at Aston Villa in October 2022
A difficult Christmas period – consisting of Chelsea and Arsenal away after facing United – now approaches but when the question was posed to the Villa boss about the title race, he remained coy on the topic with a…
2025-12-20 21:40:00
